Why am I always tired?

[Lil-Rokslider]

Sounds like you eat healthy - are you taking electrolytes. Once a cleaned up my diet I had to consume a lot of salt and be pretty intentional with getting carbs - if I miss either of those I feel like a bag of shit.

Our bodies can only handle so much stress. I have 4 kids 11 and under so your in deeper than I am! Between work, kids, CrossFit, finances (kids are freaking expensive regardless of income!!!) you probably just plain have to much going on and your body is telling you to slow down.

Easier said than done but I would dial back the CrossFit workouts for 4 weeks and see how you feel!

Solid advice. I take an electrolyte supplement every day.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

OP, how stressed do you feel on a daily basis?

Not very

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

your time of eating
exercise or walk
You must be rich and have little to worry about

I am rich, just not with money.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

Lots of good advice on this thread.

My first thought is you are burning the candle at both ends. Scale back your workout regimen a bit.

I’m 39. A couple years ago I started training for marathons. I went all in and got consumed. Was running 60-70 miles a week. I was exhausted all the time and I was never improving.

I’ve scaled back to keeping a base of 20 miles a week and then building to no more than 40 when I’m training for a race. I feel way better.

Also, do drink a lot of caffeine, especially a couple hours before bed? Or any other stimulants (nicotine?). Cut that out 2-3 hours before bed. Don’t drink alcohol 2-3 hours before bed.

Finally, if none of the above is the case. Get checked for sleep apnea and low horomone levels.

2 coffees per day. One is first thing in the morning, and the other is mid afternoon. Just black coffee. Rarely drink alcohol. No nicotine at all or other stimulants.

 

[Dos Perros]

2 coffees per day. One is first thing in the morning, and the other is mid afternoon. Just black coffee. Rarely drink alcohol. No nicotine at all or other stimulants.

I saw a study that said it's best (to avoid the mid day crash) to be awake for a couple hours before consuming caffeine. And also caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours in your body, so you really want to avoid drinking it after lunch if you want a good night's sleep.

 

[Swamp Fox]

Do you have regular sexual activities with someone besides yourself?

This seems oddly specific yet generalized at the same time ...

 

[Marbles]

For me, good sleep hygiene made all the difference. Biggest change for me was only drinking coffee in the morning. I swore I could sleep fine even after drinking coffee all day. However, caffeine messes up sleep quality and one does not get restorative sleep. I'll drink 4 to 8 cups in the morning, but stop about noon. Turn on bright lights in the morning, dim lights in the evening. Avoid alcohol within a few hours of bed (also destroys sleep quality), avoid Benadryl for the same reason. Keep the temp in your room on the cool side and use blankets to stay warm. Delta wave music can help with deep sleep. If I cannot sleep, I get up and do something productive, don't nap, and get a good nights sleep the next night.

There can be medical issues that cause it, worth talking to a healthcare provider about it.

 

[Billy Goat]

This seems oddly specific yet generalized at the same time ...

The first time I asked it was generalized.



Then I was asked for specifics.

 

[Billinsd]

I don't smoke dope, man

Duuuuuuude

 

[Billinsd]

Avoid alcohol within a few hours of bed (also destroys sleep quality), avoid Benadryl for the same reason.

Benadryl destroys sleep quality? Doesn’t help you fall asleep? That’s what I’ve taken

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

Duuuuuuude

Bruuuhhhhh

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

I saw a study that said it's best (to avoid the mid day crash) to be awake for a couple hours before consuming caffeine. And also caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours in your body, so you really want to avoid drinking it after lunch if you want a good night's sleep.

I've seen that same study, and my wife actually started doing that. I should too, but man I love a coffee first thing.

 

[Marbles]

I saw a study that said it's best (to avoid the mid day crash) to be awake for a couple hours before consuming caffeine. And also caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours in your body, so you really want to avoid drinking it after lunch if you want a good night's sleep.

I'm going to go full retard on this explanation.

Caffeine does take at least an hour to take effect, for some of us it will take closer to 3 hours from consumption to have an active effect and that gets worse as we get older. This can lead to dose stacking as people will consume a lot trying to wake up.

For most of us caffeine will have continued effects for 8 hours or more (fits with that half life). Some of us will be slow caffeine metabolizers and it will take 48 hours to clear our system, such people should just give it up. 1 in about 10,000 will by a hyper-metabolizer, these are the rare people that truly can drink it all day as they clear it in about 3 hours. Notice, most of us probably don't even know someone who fits into that category, even less likely that we are one.

Genetic testing can get to the short answer. If you have money, WildHealth provides some good services. For the rest of us, we can figure it out by experimenting.

Caffeine is subject to tachyphylaxis (fancy way of saying we get use to it after a while and the effect greatly diminishes), however the degradation in sleep quality is not one of the effects that diminishes. After 48 to 72 hours of caffeine deprivation tachyphylaxis will no longer be present. One way to finger out how you metabolize caffeine is to strictly avoid it for 3 days, then consume a decent bit, then see how long it takes for the effects to wear off.

 

[Swamp Fox]

This seems oddly specific yet generalized at the same time ...

Well, that explains it.

I especially liked how you didn't get any of the many genders or species involved ....

 

[Billy Goat]

I'm going to go full retard on this explanation.

Caffeine does take at least an hour to take effect, for some of us it will take closer to 3 hours from consumption to have an active effect and that gets worse as we get older. This can lead to dose stacking as people will consume a lot trying to wake up.

For most of us caffeine will have continued effects for 8 hours or more (fits with that half life). Some of us will be slow caffeine metabolizers and it will take 48 hours to clear our system, such people should just give it up. 1 in about 10,000 will by a hyper-metabolizer, these are the rare people that truly can drink it all day as they clear it in about 3 hours. Notice, most of us probably don't even know someone who fits into that category, even less likely that we are one.

Genetic testing can get to the short answer. If you have money, WildHealth provides some good services. For the rest of us, we can figure it out by experimenting.

Caffeine is subject to tachyphylaxis (fancy way of saying we get use to it after a while and the effect greatly diminishes), however the degradation in sleep quality is not one of the effects that diminishes. After 48 to 72 hours of caffeine deprivation tachyphylaxis will no longer be present. One way to finger out how you metabolize caffeine is to strictly avoid it for 3 days, then consume a decent bit, then see how long it takes for the effects to wear off.

Not to go back to pooping, but is there a way of knowing how we interact with caffeine and our bowls?


I'm a one cup a day person, usually in first half hour. Won't have caffeine past 4pm, usually do t have much outside of that cup in the morning.

Coffee tends to hit my guts hard, why I do t have more than the 1 cup.

 

[Billy Goat]

Well, that explains it.

I especially liked how you didn't get any of the many genders or species involved ....

When you are on the radar around here, you gotta choose your words.


Best pg explanation I could come up with.

 

[Lowg08]

As mentioned earlier iron. It will Surprise you how much it helps. My daughter dances competitively and when these girls that are in extremely excellent shape doing all the same things you do. Iron has been the answer. Also if you’re just drained. It could be your body saying to chill out. Let me have a break. I’ve noticed since I turned 40 im
Having the same issue just two Kids though. Iron has helped. I’m tired allot more. I have a blood panel done every 6 months per my doc. My testosterone is at the level of a 25 year old. Iron is a huge help. Along with taking some time when possible to just pile up for a day or two. Your body needs time to recover. Does your work stress you out. Allot of mine comes from work stress. It drains me.

 

[Swamp Fox]

BTW, I guarantee the wrong time to poop is on the way running to a gobbler ...

And yet I do it almost every single time ...

 

[Marbles]

Benadryl destroys sleep quality? Doesn’t help you fall asleep? That’s what I’ve taken

It will get people to look like they are sleeping, but looking like you are sleeping and restorative sleep are not the same. People have a variety of responses, so it is possible the effect is not as pronounced for some people.

Different topic, but illustrates the point:
One of the things that contributes to ICU psychosis is sleep deprivation from sedation. Someone who has been ventilated and sedated for a week has not been sleeping and that sever sleep deprivation leads to hallucination and psychosis.

 

[Marbles]

Not to go back to pooping, but is there a way of knowing how we interact with caffeine and our bowls?


I'm a one cup a day person, usually in first half hour. Won't have caffeine past 4pm, usually do t have much outside of that cup in the morning.

Coffee tends to hit my guts hard, why I do t have more than the 1 cup.

I know it helps me poo in the morning, but I have not looked into the specific effects on the bowels. I'm pretty sure it stimulates smooth muscle contractions (smooth muscle is what moves things through our guts). Like with most everything, there will be individual variation in response, and it sounds like you already know how caffeine interacts with your bowls.